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International Journal of Engineering Inventions (IJEI), www.ijeijournal.com,call for papers, research paper publishing, where to publish research paper, journal publishing, how to publish research paper, Call For research paper, international journal, pub

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International Journal of Engineering InventionsISSN: 2278-7461, www.ijeijournal.comVolume 1, Issue 1(August 2012) PP: 16-23 Application of Geo-Grid Reinforcement Techniques for Improving Waste Dump Stability in Surface Coal Mines: Numerical Modeling and Physical Modeling I L Muthreja1, Dr R R Yerpude2, Dr J L Jethwa3 1,2 Associate Professor in Mining Engineering, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, India 3 Former Director-level Scientist, and Scientist-in-charge, Central Mining Research Institute, Nagpur Regional Centre, presently a Tunneling ConsultantAbstract––The increase demand of coal production in India can only be achieved through the mechanised surfacemethod of mining. Reserves from shallow depths are depleting and surface coal mining has to go deeper and deeperday by day. This will result in increase in the volume of waste rock and dumping area. The problem of landacquisition along with stringent environmental law will compel the coal companies to have waste dumps of moreheight. Higher waste dumps can only be planned and constructed by using earth reinforcement techniques usinggeogrids. As geogrids have not been used in waste dumps of Indian coal mines, numerical models and physical modelsare developed to study the role of geogrids in waste dump stability. This paper discusses the comparison of dumpstability analysis results of numerical modeling and results of physical modeling.Keywords––Factor of safety, Geogrids, Waste dumps I. INTRODUCTION Coal is the major source of energy in India and, at the moment, more than 55% of principal energy consumption isbeing met by this natural resource. Proven geological reserve of coal in the country makes it the most potential source tosustain the growing demand of energy due to economical development of the country. Even after advent of the nuclearenergy, the dominance of coal is likely to continue due to different techno-economical and safety reasons. This tremendousincrease in the coal production can only be achieved through the mechanised surface mining with increase waste rockhandling. Reserves from shallow depths are depleting fast and surface coal mining has gone deeper in coming days. This willresult in increase in the volume of waste rock which will need more dumping area. The problem of land acquisition alongwith stringent environmental law, the coal companies are bound to have higher dump yards. The waste dump management is a very complex issue which depends on numerous factors. Some factors arewithin the control of the planners and mine operators but certain factors are not. Land constraints as well as increase instripping ratio will force the planners and operators to go for increasing dump heights of the existing dumps. Thus, it is afuture essential necessity to have large waste dumps with steeper slopes in opencast coal mines for ecological and economicreasons. But larger heights dumps with steeper slopes are associated with increased instability aspects, necessarily requirebetter waste dump stability management. Steepened slopes with higher dumps have become increasingly advantageous due to better land usage and lowersite development costs. The proven concept of tensile reinforcement allows construction of dumps with improved stability,than are possible with the present practice with poor dump stability. Dumps reinforced with geo-synthetics/geo-grids canreduce land requirement substantially, provide a natural appearance, and improve dump stability and safety. The application of geogrids has been modeled numerically using FLACSLOPE software developed by M/sITASCA, USA. To compare these results, physical modeling has been done in the laboratory and experiments wereperformed. II. GEOGRIDS For millennia, civilizations have sought effective methods to construct stable soil retaining structures. Thetechnique of reinforced soil is not a new concept. In a modern context, reinforced soil has become a viable and cost-effectivetechnique only over the last 30 years. This was brought about by the development of geogrid reinforcements engineeredfrom strong and durable polymers. These geogrid reinforcements enable substantial tensile loads to be supported at defineddeformations over extended design lives. Reinforced soil is the technique where tensile elements are placed in the soil to improve stability and controldeformation. To be effective, the reinforcements must intersect potential failure surfaces in the soil mass. The fig.1 illustratesthe principle of geogrids application. Strains in the soil mass generate strains in the reinforcements, which in turn, generatetensile loads in the reinforcements. These tensile loads act to restrict soil movements and thus impart additional shearstrength. This results in the composite soil/reinforcement system having significantly greater shear strength than the soilmass alone.Reinforced soil using geogrids is a very effective technique. The major benefits of reinforced soil are: 16

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Application of Geo-Grid Reinforcement Techniques for Improving Waste Dump Stability in Surface… • The inclusion of geogrid in soil improves the shear resistance of the soil thereby improving its structural capability. • Land acquisition can be kept to a minimum because reinforced structures can be made steeper and higher than would otherwise be possible. Fig 1- Geogrid reinforcement of slope Geogrid reinforcements are manufactured from highly durable polymers that can maintain strength, stiffness,and soil interaction over extended design lives. Typical design lives may range from 1 to 2 years for a temporary reinforcedsoil structure, to 120+ years for a permanent reinforced soil structure. Fig-2 shows a typical geogrids Fig.2. A typical geogrid The use of geogrids has not been applied in the Indian coal mining industry as yet. Coal mine waste dumps consistof loose broken rock material mainly consisting of sandstone, shale, and soil. The behavior of this material is similar to soilas discussed above. The use of geosynthetics/geogrids will definitely help in improving the stability of waste dumps. III. WASTE DUMP STABILITY ANALYSIS USING NUMERICAL MODEL: Representative samples from existing waste dumps in coal mines were collected and tested for determination ofmaterial characteristics. The results are shown in Table-1 Table 1: Waste dump and floor material characteristics 3 2 Sample Friction Angle, Degree Density, kN/m Cohesion, kN/m Dump (Broken Overburden 20.02 24.0 27.5 Material) 17

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Application of Geo-Grid Reinforcement Techniques for Improving Waste Dump Stability in Surface… Floor soil 20.96 39.0 20.9 (Black Cotton Soil)For modeling, above characteristics of the material from a surface coal mine have been usedThe following properties of geogrids were used for numerical modeling:Bond Cohesion= 1000 N/mBond Friction angle= 100Thickness = 5 mmFLAC SLOPE numerical modeling software is used for stability analysis of waste dump. The analysis was performed byintroducing Geogrids in the waste dump in the following way: a. Basic Waste dump, without any geogrid b. One layer of geogrid at a height of 25% of total dump height c. One layer of geogrid at a height of 50% of the total dump height d. Two layers of geogrid, one at a height of 25% and other at 50% of the total height of dumpThe following figures (1-4) show the results of modeling and the stress contours: Fig.1 Basic waste dump model without any geogrid Fig.2 Waste dump model with one layer of geogrid at 25% of dump height 18

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Application of Geo-Grid Reinforcement Techniques for Improving Waste Dump Stability in Surface… Fig.3 Waste dump model with one layer of geogrid at 50% of dump height Fig.4 Waste dump model with two layer of geogrid one at 25% and other at 50% of dump heightThe Numerical Modeling results give factor of safety of waste dump in each case.The table-2 shows the factor of safety as determined by Numerical Modeling for different conditions. Table2- Waste dump stability analysis using FLACSLOPE Numerical Modeling Software Sr. No Case Factor of Safety by Numerical Modeling 1 Simple 0.97 2 Geogrid_25 % 1.02 3 Geogrid_50 % 1.05 4 Geogrid_25_50 % 1.11The above results indicate increase in factor of safety with application of Geogrids in various combinations. IV. WASTE DUMP PHYSICAL MODELING: The geogrids have not been used in coal industry in India; hence validation of the numerical modeling results withfield study is not possible. Considering this constraint, physical model was prepared and experiments were performed on thephysical model to compare the results from numerical modeling qualitatively. A model of acrylic sheets having a dimension 300 mm X 300 mm X 450 mm was prepared on a tilting platform.Road metal dust was used for constructing the dump and the failure was induced by increasing the slope of base, the tiltingplatform. The plastic net resembling geogrids was used for the experiment. The model details are shown in figure 5.Following Procedure has been adopted for conducting experiments with physical model: 1. Same material has been used for all cases 2. Same dump configuration has been used for all cases 3. Dumps are stable under normal level floor conditions 19

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Application of Geo-Grid Reinforcement Techniques for Improving Waste Dump Stability in Surface… 4. The failure is induced by increasing the dip angle of the floor gradually The hypothesis used for the experimentation is that the modeled dump, which fails at higher slope of baseplatform, will have higher stability under normal level base platform conditions.The following experiments of monitoring failure, having same conditions as that of Numerical Modeling, were performed: a. Base model without use of geogrid b. One layer of geogrid at the height of 25% of total dump height c. One layer of geogrid at the height of 50% of total height d. Two layers of geogrid, one at a height of 25% and other at 50% of the total height of dumpThe figures 5-13 show the experiments performed as above Fig.5 Basic Model without any geogrid Fig.6 Basic Model without any geogrid another view Fig.7 Basic Model without any geogrid at failure 20

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Application of Geo-Grid Reinforcement Techniques for Improving Waste Dump Stability in Surface… Fig.8 model with one layer of geogrid at 25% of dump height Fig.9model with one layer of geogrid at 25% of dump height another view Fig.10 Physical model with one layer of geogrid at 50% of dump height 21

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Application of Geo-Grid Reinforcement Techniques for Improving Waste Dump Stability in Surface… Fig.11 Physical model with one layer of geogrid at 50% of dump height, another view Fig.12 Physical model with two layers of geogrid one at 25% and another at 50% of dump height Fig.13 Physical model with two layers of geogrid one at 25% and another at 50% of dump height, at failure 22